Summary information

Study title

Labour Force Survey Household Datasets, 2002-2023: Secure Access

Creator

Office for National Statistics, Social Survey Division

Study number / PID

7674 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-7674-16 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Not available

Abstract

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. BackgroundThe Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 years and over. It is used to inform social, economic and employment policy. The LFS was first conducted biennially from 1973-1983. Between 1984 and 1991 the survey was carried out annually and consisted of a quarterly survey conducted throughout the year and a 'boost' survey in the spring quarter (data were then collected seasonally). From 1992 quarterly data were made available, with a quarterly sample size approximately equivalent to that of the previous annual data. The survey then became known as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). From December 1994, data gathering for Northern Ireland moved to a full quarterly cycle to match the rest of the country, so the QLFS then covered the whole of the UK (though some additional annual Northern Ireland LFS datasets are also held at the UK Data Archive). Further information on the background to the QLFS may be found in the documentation.New reweighting policyFollowing the new reweighting policy ONS has reviewed the latest population estimates made available during 2019 and have decided not to carry out a 2019 LFS and APS reweighting exercise. Therefore, the next reweighting exercise will take place in 2020. These will incorporate the 2019 Sub-National Population Projection data (published in May 2020) and 2019 Mid-Year Estimates (published in June 2020). It is expected that reweighted Labour Market aggregates and microdata will be published towards the end of 2020/early 2021.Secure Access QLFS household dataUp to 2015, the LFS household datasets were produced twice a year (April-June and October-December) from the...
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Methodology

Data collection period

31/03/2002 - 31/03/2023

Country

United Kingdom

Time dimension

Repeated cross-sectional study

Analysis unit

Families/households
National

Universe

All persons normally resident in private households in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sampling procedure

Sample drawn from main LFS data. See documentation for details.

Kind of data

Numeric

Data collection mode

Compilation/Synthesis

Access

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

2015

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available to users registered with the UK Data Service.

Commercial use is not permitted.

Use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. Registered users must apply for access via a DEA Research Project Application.

Registered users must complete the Safe Researcher Training course and gain DEA Accredited Researcher Status.

Registered users must be based in the UK when accessing data.

The Data Collection must be accessed via a secure connection method in a safe environment approved by the UK Data Service.